


On Your Shoulders

by ZodiacBiologist



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Coming of Age, Familiars, Family, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness, Reflection, Team as Family, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZodiacBiologist/pseuds/ZodiacBiologist
Summary: Being a familiar would have crushed Charlie!And even if it didn't, the idea of being bound to some magic being was the last thing Archie wanted to subject himself to...Or so he thought.While waiting for Douxie to return from the afterlife, Archie reflects on the past events that lead him to this moment.
Relationships: Archie & Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	On Your Shoulders

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Douxie's death from the show is referenced toward the end. Let me know in the comments if I forgot any tags. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Disclaimers: I own nothing.

Archie never considered being a familiar, not even for a second. Up until now, the craziest thing Archie had ever done was choose a cat form, and even that was almost dubbed too much by his father. Being a familiar would have crushed Charlie! 

And even if it didn't, the idea of being bound to some magic being was the last thing Archie wanted to subject himself to...Or so he thought. 

Something about seeing that small child, huddled alone in an alleyway changed something in the cat. Near lifeless eyes almost seemed to glow as tiny fingers reached out to the cat in childish wonder.

"Hi, kitty!" The boy's voice squeaked as his small hand came to rest on Archie's head. The presence of magic from his palm took the cat by surprise; He had never met such a young wizard…

"Um, yes. Hello, uh-" The cat paused as the boy's eyes grew wide. Right, cats don't normally talk in Camelot; Perhaps they were both odd.

"Talking kitty! Hi!" The boy chirped after a moment, hardly able to contain himself. 

"Hello, talking child." Archie came to sit in front of the boy, drawn to him now. The boy's excitement seemed to die instantly, head cocking to one side. 

"Nuh huh! I'm Hisirdoux!" A pout settled on the child's face, tears threatening to slide down gaunt cheeks. The image as a whole broke Archie's heart.

Taking a careful step forward, Archie pawed gently at the boy- Hisirdoux's hand, "So, you are. Well, Hisirdoux, my name is Archibald- Er...But you may call me Archie if it's easier."

"A-Arch- Uh...Arrrr…" Hisirdoux sounded out the name carefully, "Archie!"

"Very good, Hisir- No, that name won't do at all. Perhaps we should find you a nickname as well." Archie suggested. 

Hisirdoux thought for a moment, petting the cat's head softly. The thoughtful expression on the child's face was precious, "Uh...Douxie! That kind of sounds like Archie! My mama used to-" 

Those frustrated tears from earlier began to well up again, though Archie was quick to nuzzle them away this time.

"Are you lost, Douxie?" The cat asked gently. The child shook his head so quickly he ended up knocking foreheads with Archie; The tears fell faster after that. 

"T-this is where I-I sleep…" Douxie wailed, throwing his tiny arms around his new friend's neck. 

Archie had heard once that magic is emotional, but he never truly understood until that moment what it meant. In all his years, Archie had seen possessors of magic turn the tides of war simply by getting angry enough...or sad. 

But Douxie was a child and the wisps of magic rolling of him did nothing more than cause a slight breeze. Like most wizards Archie had seen, though, that magic tantrum had been particularly draining. The boy's grip on the cat loosened and his cries turned to soft hiccups as he struggled to keep his eyes open. 

The breeze had brought a chill to the alleyway, causing the human to shiver lightly. Archie wasn't normally one to meddle with the affairs of humans, especially around Camelot, but he couldn't find it in himself to simply leave the child there...He couldn't if he wanted to, either; Douxie might have loosened his grip, but that didn't mean it was any easier to escape. 

That night became the first time Archie would shift from cat to dragon and take the boy under his wing...literally.

It was discovered that Douxie fit comfortably beneath Archie's outstretched wing, sleeping warmly for the first time in a long time. From that point on, wherever the boy went, the cat followed.

Shortly after, however, the boy began to grow and Archie's wings could no longer hold him. Shelter became even harder to find and Douxie was now becoming harder to feed; That's when the panhandling started.

Lad of Fortune had been an idea Douxie got while ducking beneath a tree during an afternoon rain. Archie had curled up into a small ball in his friend's pocket, hissing at the water. The circumstances weren't ideal in any way and money definitely was taking its time to find the pair. 

For a while, being a con artist paid for food and a few nights at shady inns, which still wasn't ideal, but much better than where they had been. While the panhandling had earned them money, it also earned them several enemies. 

By the time Merlin had found them, Douxie and Archie had officially had knives pointed at them forty-seven times (though, there was normally only one knife). 

The first night at Merlin's had been strange for a plethora of reasons; Food was handed to them, blankets were relatively clean, and Douxie didn't have to use Archie as a pillow. 

Not that Archie minded that last part much, but after years of dozing off to the boy's gentle breathing, it felt strange for the cat to sleep at the foot of the bed. That night was the first night Archie slept curled up in Douxie's arms, the boy finally repaying his familiar's favor. 

For the next three hundred or so years, things remained more or less the same, with Archie and Douxie settling into new homes for a while, then moving along. Merlin had instilled quite the work ethic in the boy, meaning their panhandling days had been left in Camelot. Douxie's odd jobs paid for their food and shelter and life was quiet.

Until- 

Three hundred years or so, give or take, with the boy and Archie was confident he could read the boy's emotions simply by sitting on his shoulders. 

The day the pretty girls that crossed their paths did little to peak Douxie's interest was the same day a conversation with an average looking lady had the boy completely entranced.

The soft shiver from the boy was no longer from the cold, rather, it was from a compliment the girl had paid him. If he stood any straighter, Archie would come tumbling down from where he was perched. Minutely, he wondered whether or not this woman would take his associate away from him...But maybe, if he let the boy- No. Douxie wasn't a boy anymore.

Maybe if he let the young man go, finally, there would be another young boy in need of his assistance; A boy with black hair and blue eyes…

Or, perhaps pink hair and hazel eyes. 

Those thoughts never truly went away, though three hundred years quickly drew out to five hundred, then nine hundred years with Douxie changing very little since his meeting with Zoe.

He did have blue hair these days, though.

Change, like death, had to take the boy by surprise. Not only had he lost his master, but his own life as well. In those minutes in the after life, Archie stood on the boy's chest, waiting. Sooner or later, the boy would reach out, wrapping his arms around his cat...He always did when he was sleeping…

Because that's exactly what Douxie was doing; He was sleeping, even if there was no shivering or gentle breathing to prove otherwise.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Archie and Douxie would be off on their next adventure, just as they had the last nine hundred and nineteen years.

And even if he didn't, the idea of being bound to some magic being was the only thing Archie wanted to subject himself to...So, he waited.


End file.
